Donald Trump is many things: billionaire, businessman, celebrity, president of the United States, and if you take his word for it, the most mistreated man in history.
No, really, that’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.
As he moves into the 2020 election campaign, Trump’s stage is set. The conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and its indeterminate results have allowed him to capitalize on the commonly held belief that it’s just Trump versus the world.
In an interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos, Trump lambasted Mueller’s “witch hunt” and claimed, “There’s never been a time in the history of our country when somebody was so mistreated as I have been.”
Certainly, Trump has faced extraordinary obstacles: congressional pushback and demonizing press coverage, to name a few. But none are exclusive to his presidency. Each one of Trump’s predecessors was met with political opposition and rivalry, the cost being stalled agendas, negative attention, and for some, life itself.
Abraham Lincoln was one such president. But not even he makes Trump’s cut.
“Although they do say Abraham Lincoln was treated really badly — I must say that’s the one, if you can believe it, Abraham Lincoln was treated supposedly very badly,” Trump said. “But nobody’s been treated badly like me. And this way I can fight the dishonest media, the corrupt media, the fake news.”
Lincoln might beg to differ. He inspired such violent opposition that states tried to leave the union upon his election, and then later he became the victim of assassination. So too did Presidents James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt survived assassination attempts. That’s a bit worse than Trump’s treatment.
And there are many nonpresidential Americans who have been treated worse than Trump. Take Ohio resident Ricky Jackson, for example, who spent 39 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Wrongly accused of murder when he was 19 years old, Jackson narrowly avoided the death penalty, and it wasn’t until half of his life had passed him by that he walked free.
Negative press coverage is hardly comparable. Yes, the media’s coverage of Trump is biased and more often than not unfair. Is it unjust? Maybe. If anything, a combative press is a sign of a healthy republic: Better for the press to rise up and check the government than to roll over and worship its executive.
Of course, Trump’s appeal to victimhood is an absurd exaggeration and should be treated as such — we know better than to take the man’s word literally. But this narrative should draw more than just eye rolls. It serves a strategic purpose: It turns Trump into a martyr, crucified by the establishment, burnt at the stake by a politically correct Inquisition.
If today’s polarization has taught us anything, it’s that victimhood is a cheap commodity until it’s politically expedient. Trump’s agenda is largely intact, his judicial appointments are successfully reshaping the courts, and his party still controls half of Congress. These many successes are important, but Trump would rather focus on alleged wrongs.
Trump’s claim to victimhood does a disservice to those whom justice failed. Injustice has many targets, and the president of the United States is not one of them.
